


Through the Eyes of Another

by NelindeA



Series: Fragments [5]
Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, I feel like fluff is a tag in every one of my stories, References to Depression, World Tour 2018, interactive introverts, platonic phan, that's because I really like fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-07
Updated: 2019-02-07
Packaged: 2019-10-24 00:13:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17693882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NelindeA/pseuds/NelindeA
Summary: Dan and Phil on tour. From the point of view of Martyn and Cornelia.





	Through the Eyes of Another

**Author's Note:**

> I kind of love the idea of Martyn and Cornelia just looking out for Dan and Phil on this tour. I have no idea what they were actually doing, but I couldn't get the idea out of my head.
> 
> Also, in case it wasn't obvious, I should probably say that all the stories in this "Fragments" series are Dan and Phil having a platonic friendship. Just wanted you to know what you're getting here. :D

Martyn and Cornelia had something special, and they knew it. And it wasn’t just what they felt for each other, though they felt very lucky to have that, too. 

No, Martyn and Cornelia had the privilege of watching Dan and Phil’s friendship grow stronger every day. They were there, on the Interactive Introverts tour, and they could witness everything first hand. Whether Dan and Phil were aware that their friendship was like something out of a movie remained a mystery, but all their fans knew it, and Martyn and Cornelia knew it. 

Both of them had already been very fond of Dan and Phil, of course. Naturally Martyn loved Phil anyway, because he’d always had a very close bond with his brother, but he’d always thought of Dan as a brother, too. And Dan, though this was something else he’d never admit, seemed happy to have a surrogate older brother.

And Cornelia felt completely maternal towards them from the day she met them. She admired Martyn for always being so sure and strong and confident, but Dan and Phil just seemed so defenseless that she made it a point to always be a friend that they could rely on. 

So when she and her boyfriend were asked to go on tour, they didn’t hesitate for a moment. They jumped at the prospect of travelling the world with these two, who they’d watched grow and mature and become stronger and more confident. That wasn’t to say they didn’t still act as older brother and maternal friend, but they felt better now about just stepping back and watching them fly. 

But they never expected it to be so enjoyable just to watch them bond. They’d never wondered why these two were so beloved online. How could people not just adore them and their awkward nerdiness? Cornelia especially suspected that a lot of the girls who watched them also felt extremely protective of them. 

But actually witnessing all the ways they clicked, all their inside jokes, all the mannerisms that the other one knew perfectly, and all the ways they looked out for and stood up for each other; it suddenly made more sense as to why their fanbase was so huge. It was a beautiful thing to witness, and all of their fans only got the brief glimpses that Dan and Phil showed them and it was enough for them to understand that what they were looking at was a phenomenon that they would likely never see in anyone else again.   
Martyn and Cornelia, however, had front row seats. They were there every step of the way, for most of the tour at least, and they knew they were witnessing something incredible, and it inspired them to be closer friends with each other, as well. 

There was, for instance, the issue of Dan’s mental health. The Lesters and Cornelia were some of the very few of Dan’s friends who knew about his depression before he’d announced it on YouTube. And because Interactive Introverts was in the works before he’d given this announcement, they had gently questioned whether it was a good idea to do something so ambitious, something he couldn’t take a day off from, something that he’d have to guarantee he’d be okay for for five solid months. 

Dan wasn’t offended. He realized that this was a big commitment, and he knew that it wasn’t just his gamble, it was everyone else’s if he wouldn’t be able to carry through. So he just smiled and assured everyone that yes, he was perfectly aware of what he was getting into and he wouldn’t have taken it on if there was even the slightest chance that he wouldn’t make it. 

And when Phil was pulled aside by several people, not only his family member but by some who would be working closely on this with them, to ask what his opinion was, Phil just smiled as well. “He did this once before,” he said. “And yet he chose to do it again. Does that sound like someone who can’t handle it?” 

He didn’t seem very offended either, but in the beginning of 2018, about a month or so before the tour kicked off, Phil came to the discussion meetings alone, calmly saying that Dan wasn’t feeling well. 

And now that everyone knew about Dan thanks to his depression video, they all immediately jumped to that conclusion. But no one was brave enough to directly question Phil about it, except for their director who calmly asked, “Is he still on board?” 

“Yes,” Phil replied, stiffening up.

“Okay then,” their director said breezily, as if nothing was wrong. 

But Cornelia pulled Phil aside as everyone was leaving. “Is he okay?” she asked. 

A frown crossed Phil’s face and he opened his mouth in preparation to say something sharp, but when he caught that maternal look in Cornelia’s eyes, he dropped the frown and sighed. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “He’s…having a breakdown, is all.”

“Oh.” Cornelia didn’t say anything else, but watched Phil’s face intently, waiting to see if he’d continue.

He did, after thinking about it for a while. “He still wants this,” he said, nodding. “He’s freaking out about it now, but he knows, a hundred percent, that he’ll regret it if he backs out now.”

“Good,” Cornelia said softly. “He doesn’t let his brain control him entirely then.”

“No,” Phil gave a sad laugh. “No, that boy certainly doesn’t let anything control him. He’s terrified, is all, and I hate seeing him suffer through his breakdowns, but…” he looked at her fiercely. “He can do it, Cornelia. I know he can do it.”

“Okay,” she said, nodding. “I believe you.”

She didn’t, entirely, and neither did Martyn, really, when she told him, but neither of them said anything to anyone else, and Dan was back for the next meeting, smiling and being as professional as ever. 

So Operation World Tour commenced, and for a long time, Dan was fine. The first time he showed signs of wavering wasn’t until after arriving in America. They had to have a quick meeting in a hotel room to discuss trimming the show a bit again, and Dan was tapping and shifting anxiously at every proposition that flew out. 

“Do we need the synchronized clap?” Someone on their crew asked. “I mean I know it’s cool, but it really doesn’t relate to the rest of the show, and it takes up several minutes.”  
“No,” Phil shook his head. “That’s like the best part of the show. And so is giving them a collective name, before you suggest cutting that, too.” 

“Phil, you’ve said every part is the best part of the show,” their director sighed. “It just has to be one little thing. Just to keep us under the two-hour mark. Dan, what do you think?”

“I think all of it is important,” Dan said in a flat voice. 

“Of course it is,” Martyn said. “All of it is, so don’t worry, getting rid of one little bit isn’t going to take away from the importance or enjoyment of it.”

“Come on, boys,” the director said. “One suggestion. Whatever it is, we’ll do it.”

Both Dan and Phil were silent, with Dan’s fingers tapping a mile a minute on the table. No one told him to stop. 

“Phantastic Phacts,” Dan said finally, and Martyn and Cornelia looked more shocked than anyone. 

The director turned to Phil, about to ask him what he thought, but Phil just nodded before he could say anything. “Yeah. Yeah, cut that.” 

“But…” Cornelia started, but Martyn just put his hand on hers, silencing her. 

Everyone looked at both Dan and Phil, but neither seemed regretful of it. If anyone thought that Phil was just agreeing for Dan, he certainly wasn’t looking like he was. 

When everyone had left except for Dan, Phil, Martyn and Cornelia, Martyn turned to them. “Why that segment?” he asked. “I would have said that’s one of the most exciting things. You know. For your audience.” 

Phil shrugged. “Electrocution hurts. We needed to cut one of those segments, just for our own physical safety.”

“We’re not cutting anything else out, though,” Dan said firmly. “We are not.”

“We shouldn’t have to,” Cornelia reassured, and then glanced at her phone. “Oh, wow, you two had better get ready for your rehearsal. Remember it’ll be a shorter one, though, because the meetup is happening immediately after.”

“No,” Dan said. “I can’t…I can’t do the rehearsal. Not today.”

“Dan…” Martyn said warningly. 

“I can’t be with people nonstop, Martyn, I need a break from everyone!” Dan snapped, and practically ran out of the room. 

Phil immediately strode forward after him, but Cornelia put her hand out. “Wait…you’re not gonna follow him are you?” 

Phil looked surprised. “Of course I am.”

“But he said…” Cornelia didn’t know why she felt like she was the ignorant one here. “He said he needs a break from everyone.”

“Yeah, I heard him. He says that all the time.” Phil shrugged. “Never applied to me, though.” And he marched out of the room after his friend, leaving Martyn and Cornelia in mild shock. 

Dan did go to his rehearsal that day, though later than he was supposed to, and he made it through the meetup and the show with no more problems. After that if he was showing signs of freaking out, Cornelia noticed that Phil was always immediately there, and went off with him somewhere, and brought him back looking very much better. 

She and Martyn honestly didn’t know how Dan and Phil would have gotten through that tour without the other one taking constant care of them. They were always telling the other one to go to sleep, or eat a salad, or drink more water. They kept each other laughing constantly, and on the rare occasions they weren’t together, they apparently were still texting, or at least that’s what everyone guessed from the little smiles that would appear on their faces that they reserved only for each other. 

On one of the last nights on their tour bus, Cornelia went into the lounge to find Dan and Phil sitting on the sofa, asleep. Phil was kind of sitting on his side, one leg under him and his arm up on the top of the couch, head falling on top of it. On the opposite side, Dan’s head had fallen to one side and his arms were loosely clasped around the pillow resting in his lap. There was a movie playing, but the credits were rolling and the volume was turned down very low. Probably more for the benefit of the others on the bus than for Dan and Phil’s. They didn’t let themselves fall asleep in public very often, so Cornelia was experiencing a stronger bout of maternity in this moment than she was used to.   
Martyn came up beside her and gave a quiet laugh. “Sometimes you remember that they’re just children, huh?”

“Well don’t say it like it’s a dirty word!” she whispered back in protest. “But yes. They are, they’re just my poor, tired, innocent…” she walked slowly over to them and began pulling blankets over them. “You’re not just children,” she said in a hushed voice, taking off Phil’s glasses and brushing Dan’s curls out of his face. “You two are superheroes.”

One of Martyn and Cornelia’s favorite things on that trip was to go sightseeing with them, because Phil got a kick out of everything, and Dan got a kick out of watching him get a kick out of everything. Martyn just was fascinated to see things he’d never seen before, and Cornelia’s heart was bursting with pride every time she looked at all three of them, so she posted as much with all three as she possibly could. 

She didn’t expect to be concerned when Dan and Phil flew to Asia on their own. It wasn’t because they were going by themselves, because obviously they knew how to do that and had loads of experience. But typhoons seemed to follow them everywhere for a little bit, and when Cornelia heard that roads were blocked off, some members of their audience were prevented from showing up, and flights were cancelled, she began to worry that something would happen to them. 

Martyn shrugged these worries off, saying that Dan and Phil were smart and everything always seemed to work out for them, but Cornelia suspected that he was worried too. They almost forgot to be worried about themselves when they couldn’t leave Australia for a while, but finally, finally it was all over and everyone was back home in London. Most of the crew got together to throw a party, but though Dan and Phil politely showed their faces, they left fairly early into the night. 

Martyn reported to Cornelia the next day that they’d had pizza and had watched anime until they fell asleep, and Cornelia wanted to laugh out loud. 

They were in no way required to go to Brazil, since it wasn’t even a show, but Martyn and Cornelia felt like they’d been through too much to not go all the way. 

But on the day of the event, while all four were backstage watching the Brazil audience watch the movie, Phil suddenly disappeared. Dan followed, and then moments later texted Cornelia to come. 

Phil was sitting in a chair with a glass of water, with Dan crouched in front of him anxiously fussing over him. “What happened?” Martyn demanded.

“Nothing,” Phil said, rolling his eyes. “Dan’s overreacting is all.”

“I am not,” Dan said. “You fainted three weeks ago, and just now you had to sit down because you felt lightheaded.”

Cornelia gasped and crouched down next to Dan, placing her hands on Phil’s cheeks. “Darling, do you feel dizzy? Do you have a headache?”

Phil giggled, looking at all three of them. “You guys don’t have to baby me. I just felt lightheaded because…” he looked at Dan, and suddenly realization spread over Dan’s face.   
“Because we’re finally here in freaking Brazil, is that it?” Dan asked lightly, and unconvincingly.

“Exactly!” Phil said brightly. “It’s just surreal is all.” He continued to stare at Dan. “All of it.”

Dan nodded in complete understanding. And suddenly Martyn and Cornelia understood, too, and both of them moved away from them and back to their spot where they could see both the audience and the movie. 

It had nothing to do with Phil’s illness of a few weeks prior. Phil had felt lightheaded for different reasons. Emotional reasons. Reasons that Martyn and Cornelia would probably have never figured out if they hadn’t been there, from the very beginning, watching how much this entire tour meant to them. 

Phil went onstage and seemed completely fine, but that didn’t stop Dan from immediately asking if Phil was okay when they came back, and Phil confirming that he was.  
“Dude,” Martyn smiled. “Your mics are still on.”

Dan groaned as Phil giggled. “Great,” Dan said. “I bet the people won’t tear that to pieces or anything.”

“Let them,” Phil said. “They pick the rest of our lives apart anyway."

“Too true,” Dan said, giving a melancholy sigh that just made Phil giggle again.

They walked away, nudging each other playfully, and Martyn and Cornelia stood back, watching them as always. The fans didn’t know everything. They couldn’t. They had glimpses into Dan and Phil’s incredible friendship, but they’d never see it the way Martyn and Cornelia saw it. 

They’d never know how much of a fairy tale it really and truly was.


End file.
